Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos was shorted a ball by home plate umpire Scott Barry in his plate appearance leading off bottom of the sixth inning against the Rangers last night, but still ended up working a walk against starter Colby Lewis.
Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post has the details:Ramos took a ball on a 2-2 pitch. Home plate umpire Scott Barry, according to Ramos, declared the count 3-2. Rangers catcher Chris Gimenez turned and asked, “Isn’t it 2-2?”
“Yeah, Barry replied. “2-2.”
“It’s not 3-2?” Ramos asked Barry.
“No, it’s 2-2,” Barry said.
Ramos shrugged and went back to the at-bat.
“I said in my mind, ‘That’s three balls,’ ” Ramos said. “That’s okay. Five balls. I’ll take it.”
The more astute among us may remember Barry as the umpire who picked a right with and then ejected Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard in the 14th inning of a game against the Astros. Barry’s decision to eject Howard forced the Phillies to, memorably, send pitcher Roy Oswalt out to left field.
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